Silk Screen Printing is a traditional printing process, a type of stencil printing. By making a pattern template on the screen, the ink is pressed by a scraper to pass through the holes of the screen, and the pattern or text is directly formed on the surface of the substrate. This technology is widely used for surface printing of various materials such as plastics, textiles, glass, ceramics, metals, paper, wood, etc., and is especially suitable for printing needs such as brand logos and packaging patterns of B-end products.
Advantages of screen printing
1. Thick ink layer, strong three-dimensional effect
The ink layer thickness of screen printing can reach 20-100 microns (even higher in special cases), which is much higher than offset printing (5 microns) or gravure printing (12 microns), and can present full colors and three-dimensional effects, with outstanding visual effects.
2. Flexibility in shape and size
It can be applied to various irregular surfaces and flat objects, with high flexibility to meet the personalized printing needs of different products.
3. Diverse ink types
It supports special inks such as water-based, oil-based, UV-curing, fluorescent, and thermochromic, and it can even print metallic paint or transparent varnish, with rich applicable scenarios.
4. Outstanding economic efficiency (when the batch is large)
A large number of products can be printed in one plate making, and the cost per piece decreases significantly as the output increases, which is suitable for mass production.
5. Light resistance and environmental protection
The ink has strong light resistance and is suitable for outdoor advertising; some water-based inks have low pollution and there is no smoke and dust in the production process.
Disadvantages of screen printing
1. High initial cost (for small batches)
Each color needs to be plated separately, with the high initial investment, and is not suitable for small batch custom printing.
2. Limited color gradient performance
It is difficult to express complex gradient colors or extremely fine picture details, especially when not suitable for photo-level high-precision printing.
3. Long production cycle
Each additional color requires a separate plate making and printing, which takes a long time to prepare in the early stage, and the delivery cycle is usually longer than digital printing.
4. Pollution problem
Some inks contain PVC or formaldehyde, and a large amount of water is required to remove floating colors after printing, which may cause water waste and pollution.
Summary:
Screen printing is suitable for mass production scenarios that require high quality, bright colors and long-term durability, but for the needs of small printing quantities, delicate color transitions, complex images or small batches and fast delivery, other technical solutions such as digital printing are more suitable.
